FOOD LITERACY, WELL-BEING, AND SUSTAINABILITY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

This contribution examines the project “Fruit and Well-being – Food Education and Healthy Lifestyles”, carried out at the “Andrea Camilleri” Comprehensive Institute in Favara within the framework of the national programme “Fruit and Vegetables in Schools”, as an interdisciplinary educational experience aimed at promoting food literacy in primary education. Grounded in a pedagogical perspective that understands food education not as the mere transmission of nutritional prescriptions, but as a transformative practice capable of intertwining health, environmental sustainability, active citizenship, and social responsibility, the study explores the formative potential of a pathway based on active and inclusive methodologies. The intervention combined guided reflection on eating habits, direct experiences of mindful consumption, sensory and interdisciplinary workshops, environmental education activities, and a final authentic task focused on designing a “healthy snack.” From a methodological point of view, the study is configured as a case study and draws on systematic observations, students’ work, and assessment rubrics to identify emerging learning processes, attitudes, and behaviours. The evidence collected highlights a strengthening of knowledge related to the principles of healthy eating, greater awareness of seasonality, waste reduction, and the quality of food choices, as well as the development of collaborative and responsible competences. The project shows how food literacy, when framed within a broad pedagogical perspective, can function as an educational device capable of fostering well-being, inclusion, and citizenship competences in primary school.